


Witches and Ravens

by Imasha



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Princess Tutu
Genre: Birbs, Crows, Gen, Hope, I'm doing it, I'm mixing PMMM and PT, Knights - Freeform, Magical Girls, Multi, Swans, There will be death, War, Witches, the raven
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23061652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imasha/pseuds/Imasha
Summary: Crossover of Doom, set in Siegfried's time/homeland with Witches about and aiding the Raven in the middle of the War. Magical Girls aid in the War efforts, and everyone is doing what they can to survive. Families fear losing not only their homes and lives, but their children to the recruitment. Or volunteering themselves.Will be posted in snippets and relatively out of order. Minimally edited. Deep Lore Knowledge not required, but a plus if you enjoy noticing things.
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A few characters are from canon. Others are inspired by canon, and yet more are inspired by deeper lore, fairy tales, and mythology of times past.
> 
> The fairytale style of the narration here is prologue-specific, will be more normal in the rest of the chapters.
> 
> Hope ya'll enjoy~

Once upon a time, there was a princess whose name was Signy. She lived in a prosperous land with seven older brothers and a view of the sea. She loved her family and her people, and her kindness was known throughout all the lands. No royalty was more loved.

Then an evil raven began to gain power in the mountains, stealing people’s hearts and eating them. “I want more!” cried the Raven, and got the attention of some wicked witches. The witches and the Raven worked together, eating more humans; the Raven ate the pure and benevolent, the witches ate the sad and hopeless.

Princess Signy’s best friend lived in the mountains. Her family tried to escape, but only she and her mother managed to get to Princess Signy and her kingdom. “We have to help the rest of the people trapped in the mountains!” said the Princess to her family.

“The Raven and the witches are only getting stronger,” the Princess’ mother agreed.

“We will send our eldest son,” said the Princess’ father, “with a portion of our army, and he blessing of the Swan Goddess.”

So they did. But the Raven and the witches had been gathering and eating many people, growing larger and more powerful. By the time the eldest son found the Raven and witches, he and his army were not nearly powerful enough to overcome the creatures. The army was slain, but thanks to the Swan Goddess’ blessing, the eldest son turned into a swan and flew back home.

Though his family could not understand him, they figured out the swan was their eldest son, and lamented. Their son cried with them, then was called to the sea by the Swan Goddess. The Princess’ father swore to do better, and sent the next two eldest sons with over half of their army to put down the evil fiends.

However, the witches and the Raven were even more powerful this time, and the same thing happened. The witches were starting to prey upon the people outside of the mountains now, and the neighboring kingdoms were staring to worry. The Princess’ father sent the remaining four sons to the other kingdoms, to gather forces together and fight the Raven and the witches.

They were successful, but in the time it took to gather more armies, the Raven and the witches grew more powerful and numerous as well. The brothers tried to strategize and attack from multiple sides, but though they slew many crows and evaded witches, they were unable to overcome the Raven or the masses of witches that had gathered. One by one, all the brothers were turned into swans and returned home, then went to the sea.

Princess Signy and her family mourned their losses, as did the Princess’ best friend and the people. Thanks to the sacrifices given, many people had been saved. However, many had also been lost, and while the Raven had been halted in his advance from the mountains, it was only a matter of time before he and the witches attacked again and spread to more of the kingdoms.

Princess Signy knew that, if a young girl wished for something hard enough, her wish could be heard and granted in exchange for becoming a Magical Girl. Magical Girls were the only people who could completely destroy a witch, and were respected for their power. However, they often died in their endeavors, and no one wanted to lose their children to such a fate, even if it was to protect others.

Though she knew her parents would be distraught, Princess Signy also knew that she had to help defeat the Raven and the witches. So while her father was away helping organize the armies, the Princess wished with all her heart that she could bring an end to the war. She wished day and night, and then, one day, a small voice answered her.

“You desire to make a contract?”

She did. Princess Signy wished that she could bring an end to the war with the Raven and the witches. The creature who had answered her told her it would be difficult, that she would need to become someone new in order for the people to follow her to battle, to be victorious. Princess Signy accepted all of this, knowing she might not succeed, but also knowing she had to try. For everyone.

Her wish was granted. Princess Signy was transformed, not only into a Magical Girl, but into Prince Siegfried, a young man who kingdoms would follow into battle out of love and respect, who could slay crow and witch alike with one sword. Siegfried felt peace and power with the transformation, confidence, and an even greater desire to protect those around him.

Siegfried’s parents wept when they learned what had happened, and mourned the loss of their daughter to the war, but Siegfried comforted them. He was still their child, and now had the power to truly end the war; there was hope again. They eventually dried their tears and agreed to do what they could to bring an end to this terrible war before it became even worse.

Prince Siegfried’s friends resolved to help him as well. His bodyguard became his right-hand lieutenant, dependable and strong. His best friend from the mountains mourned when she saw what Siegfried had done, but then she wished to become a Magical Girl as well. She did, and became even more adept at slaying witches than Prince Siegfried.

Now they travel the land, gathering whoever they can to fight, slaying crows and witches wherever they find them. They spread hope and try to come up with the final plan to destroy the Raven once and for all.


	2. Climactic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This scene is from 3/4 or more through the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one of the first things I got down, so there's a little exposition to help explain some things.

Nadja had come to the Raven of her own accord. He was surrounded by witches, her sister the largest of them.

“Nadja!” Lohengrin shouted from Siegfried’s side. “What— You have no armor! No—” He was cut off as a familiar made of scissors and twine tried to cut him in half. A messily-sketched black wolf wearing a crown protected him.

Roux’s witch stood in the shadows behind Siegfried. Even after succumbing to her darkness, her despair, she clung to the obsession to protect her beloved at all times. Siegfried and Lohengrin had come to accept this and moved on quickly.

“Go, get her out of here!” Siegfried told Lohengrin as he slashed at another crow.

Lohengrin quickly ran over towards Nadja, slashing at crows and dodging witch attacks. But suddenly a fan slashed through another pair of scissors, and Nadja was standing before him, wielding fans in her wings, wearing the glowing white outfit of a Magical Girl.

“N.. Nadja…” Lohengrin’s voice died as he saw her smiling at him, tears in her eyes.

“You can still call me Tutu, you know,” she said in a soft tone, then twirled and cut down more familiars.

Lohengrin’s sword went slack in his hand; she had really done it. She had become a Magical Girl. She had given in to the pressures of the war, and it was going to take her.

But oh, she was brilliant.

Nadja felt brilliant. She was blocking and attacking familiars with hardly a second glance, her training and determination were now fueled by even more energy than she had before, more skill than she thought she’d had. Or maybe it was just easier now.

Lohengrin automatically blocked more birds, and quickly was caught up in the fighting again. But he had a grimness in his expression that hadn’t been there before.

Nadja dodged an attack and looked at him a little sadly. “Lohen… I’ve done this for everyone. For Siegfried, for you. For Roux.” She looked and saw a barrier of white-haired paper girls with bleeding hearts form around Siegfried, forcing a blow from a lance to glance away. Flower petals reinforced the wall, making sure that the lengthy weapon didn’t swing back.

Nadja looked back at the attacking witch, as large as a house - no, a tower. She was a towering behemoth with books with eyes surrounding her and her lance.

“I did it for my sisters.”

Lohengrin looked at the witch, and back at Nadja, then seemed to connect. “Your— is that—”

“That witch was once my sister Róta. The one who help start and protected our school from the biggest witch around. The one who slew my sister Kára after she became the witch.” Nadja gripped her fans tightly. “And now I will slay her. To protect you all, to protect everyone.”

Lohen stayed near her side, attacking crows as they came and slicing them in pieces. He knew he couldn’t help in the fight against the witches, but he could help with the crows. And he wanted to spend every moment he could close to Nadja before…

“There!” Nadja said, pointing. “Prince! There’s an opening!”

Prince Siegfried looked up, and indeed the Raven had left his breast open. But even as Siegfried jumped for it, Róta’s witch came between them and the Raven laughed. Siegfried blocked her attacks, but he was stuck as well. Roux’s witch came up and fought with Siegfried, and together they kept the creature at bay. But still, they could not advance to the Raven.

Nadja looked at Lohengrin. “We have to help him.”

Lohengrin nodded, and they dashed over. Jumping, Nadja picked Lohengrin up with her wings and tossed him after the Prince. Rota lashed out, but Nadja stopped her with her fan.

Siegfried looked over, and looked astonished to see Nadja as a Magical girl.

“Go, Prince!” Nadja urged. “We will hold her off!”

Roux’s witch rammed into Rota’s witch form, shoving her aside. Lohengrin then flew past and slashed at crows ready to defend the Raven.

Siegfried barely spared a nod for all of them before surging forward in a burst of flower petals. They all knew he was grateful; there was no time to show it.

Nadja used her fans to cut large swaths in the witch who once was her sister. The witch screamed, agonizing and multi-layered, dissonance incarnate. She winced. But then she heard another, lower cry, a caw screech through the air. The Prince had landed a blow.

Lohengrin landed on the ground in a roll, then stood again, slashing at more crows. They intensified at the Raven’s agony.

Siegfried kept swinging his sword, cutting long gashes in the bird’s breast. The Raven flapped his wings and raised his talons, shoving the Prince away with wind and claw. The Prince fell from his tower of flowers, but fell on his feet near Lohengrin.

Nadja fought with the witch who was once her sister, trying to avoid Roux’s familiars as well. Roux didn’t care who she hit in her zeal to protect. Nadja almost envied her, being able to continue her mission to protect even after becoming a witch. Even in her short time learning of the transformation, Ida hadn’t said such a thing had ever happened before.

Rota’s witch shoved both her and Roux’s witch away, and tried for another attack on Siegfried. Roux’s witch threw herself in the way with a screech, high-pitched and multi-faceted. Layers of her paper-doll-like familiars formed chains behind her, making a barrier between Rota’s witch and Siegfried.

Nadja couldn’t see Siegfried, or Lohengrin, very easily anymore. But neither could Rota’s witch. And so Nadja went after her again, with Roux’s witch, while Lohengrin and Siegfried worked on getting close to the Raven again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Near the beginning of things

Roux dodged her assailant’s jab at her, and neatly kicked at his legs. He grunted but didn’t go down, of course he didn’t, she had missed his knee. He kept coming at her and she kept redirecting the attacks. Finally, he kicked, and she managed to dodge and get her arms under his leg, and then flipped the man on his back. He gave a satisfying thud with something like a cough, and before he could do anything else she had a knife to his throat, her knee on his chest. Her body weight wouldn’t do more than inconvenience him, but the blade would kill him.

The man raised his hands to his side and looked at her, barely breathing. “Truce,” he managed to get out.

Roux smirked, sheathed her knife and got up.

The man swallowed and sat up, rubbing his neck briefly. “I thought you weren’t going to use your actual knives…”

“Well I didn’t throw them at you,” she retorted with a toss of her black hair, still smiling.

“This is training, Roux,” a new man said, voice older and stronger, as he walked into the practice arena. “You’re not supposed to use live blades.”

Roux rolled her eyes. “The wooden ones feel different, weigh different! How am I supposed to learn properly without the proper materials?”

“There are dull blades when you reach that point. But you are too young to worry about that yet,” the man said as the man on the ground got up and saluted. The commanding officer was tall, broad, and had a plethora of dark braids tied back behind his head. His looming stature intimidated everyone, as he intended to. “But you are  _ not _ too young to  _ learn _ .”

Roux pretended that his scowl didn’t bother her and took off a glove to inspect her nails. “I think I’m learning just fine. I pinned Asger here, didn’t I?”

“You haven't done any proper training with a sword.”

“That’s what you and your son are for, aren’t you?” Parzifal and his son Lohengrin, one the leader of the Swan Kingdom’s armies and tactics, the other best friend to Prince Siegfried and training to be his best knight. All they ever used were swords. They were damn good at it, but that just meant she didn’t need to bother.

“It is  _ part of the training _ —”

“To become a  _ knight _ ! I’m not becoming a  _ knight _ ,” Roux said, dramatically emphasizing the word as much as possible. “I’m becoming the best hope Sieg has for  _ covert _ missions. And protecting him from enemies that  _ don’t _ just run up yelling with a sword. Because there are other enemies than those.”

Parzifal sighed, finally unclenching his hands from behind his back so he could rub pair of massive fingers over the bridge of his nose. “Lady Loup, please. I agreed to let you learn basic defense and attack if you would follow directions.”

He never used her title properly, she was a  _ princess _ , but she had agreed to less formal interactions for training. It was fine from everyone else, but Sir Parzifal still managed to make it sound like an insult. Roux took off her other glove pointedly and put them away in her belt, looking away from the man as if she couldn’t be bothered to keep eye contact while she talked. “And I’ve learned it; I’ve learned everything you’ve given me other than the sword. Plus some.” She smirked.

“Well then,” Sir Parzifal said deliberately, “if you won’t take a sword, I suppose there’s nothing more for me to teach you.” He turned and walked off.

Oh. Oh, no, that wasn’t what she’d meant. Roux rushed after him. “Wh— no! Wait!”

He didn’t stop, but she caught up with him. “There  _ is _ more—”

“You said you wouldn’t touch a sword, milady. Considering you can barely hold it straight I don’t blame you.”

“It’s not  _ my _ fault even your practice swords weigh half as much as I do.” 

“You could train  _ properly _ and learn to lift them, or even use a  _ shield _ now and then.”

“I’ve been learning other things!” she snapped.

“You certainly have.”

She wanted to kick him, but she knew it would do as much good as kicking the stone walls. If she used some of her magic, it would certainly get through to him… But she needed to save that for whenever crows showed up. They did, without fail, sometime or other. Always. Which was why she needed to learn more techniques to make herself even stronger. Magic was amazing, but she could feel it drain her when she used too much. And she needed to always be there for Sieg.

They entered a hallway, and Roux kept up with him despite being at least two feet shorter. “There’s more,” she intoned, demanding he respond to her “I  _ know _ there’s more.”

“Not here,” Sir Parzifal said without turning. “Not for you.”

“Yes there  _ is _ ,” she insisted, trying to keep from sounding like she was desperate. “You just don’t want to  _ teach  _ me!”

“We’ve been teaching you, milady. You said yourself that you’ve already learned what we have.”

She let out a frustrated noise and punched him, straight in the side. She was pretty sure she felt a rib, even, though her hand was painfully squished in the process. But before she could process anything else, or back off as quickly as she knew she should, she felt her arm twisted up sharply in a vice grip. She gave a short cry, and the few others in the hall paused, tense. 

“ _ Princess _ ,” Sir Parzifal said, looking down at her as she squirmed and tried to claw his hand off of her, “you do not want to learn what I’ve had to teach you. You’ve taken my expertise and gifts of wisdom and twisted them to your own designs. You have learned many things, but respect is not one of them, and I will not let you deface (?) even the basic skills of my profession any longer.”

He let her go before she could yell at the people around them to help her, so she quickly yelled at him instead. “ _ I’m _ trying to  _ protect the prince _ ! Defend Sieg from the witches and ravens and crows! I’ll be  _ right  _ at his side while  _ you’re _ off getting eaten!”

“The Prince doesn’t need your protection, Princess.” Sir Parzifal left before she could scramble for a good comeback, and she glared at everyone still staring at her. They quickly hurried on. She sniffed, smoothed her jacket, and headed upstairs.

Any title he used for her always sounded like an insult.


	4. Chapter 4

Prince Siegfried sipped his water. “I heard about the, ah…  _ discussion _ with Roux.”

Sir Parzifal sighed, but stayed standing where he was.

“Are you sure you don’t have anything else for her to learn?” he asked.

“Your Royal Highness, may I be honest?”

“Of course.”

“Princess Loup has much to learn in terms of mastering herself, before she can really advance further with her weapons or defense training.”

“Now, I think that may be a bit harsh…” Siegfried responded. “You know you two have never gotten on very well.”

Sir Parzifal nodded. “I know. I was not done.”

“Oh… go on.”

“Considering everything that has happened to her, her family, and her kingdom, and the fact that she is not even 20 yet… I actually do believe she is doing well.”

Siegfied blinked, surprised at the albeit backhanded praise. “She isn’t much older than me, Sir Parzifal.” 

“When life has given you sorrows and major changes, you have learned to keep your head and affect positive change to solve the problem. When Princess Loup has been given hard changes, time and time again… she has learned to lash out and solve problems quickly and messily.”

Siegfried frowned, but waited a moment before answering. The man wasn’t exactly  _ wrong _ . “She… is effective.”

“Oh, very, Highness. She just…” Sir Parzifal searched for the right words, and glanced into Siegfried’s eyes before continuing.

Siegfried saw a worry there he hadn’t expected.

“She’s learned very quickly. She’s very good.” Parzifal had lowered his voice. “Too good. She doesn’t have the respect or humility to temper her skills, and her common sense leaves when she thinks she’s won or when she’s too upset. My Prince… she’ll go out in a blaze of her own making before she even reaches her full potential if she continues like this.” He eyed Siegfried. “She’ll probably take anyone nearby down with her.”

Siegfried’s eyes widened a little as he finished his glass to give himself time to process all that. “...So, what you’re saying, is that Roux is a danger to herself and others right now, and is too much for you to handle?”

“... She refuses to learn what she needs to from me, my Prince,” was the only reply. 

Siegfried rolled his lips at his glass. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear… but Sir Parzifal wouldn’t lie about this kind of thing, no matter his personal arguments with Roux.

“Thank you, Sir Parzifal. I will keep your counsel in mind.”

The knight could recognize a dismissal without further emphasis. The man nodded, bowed, and left.

Siegfried waited until the door closed, then exhaled heavily, running a hand through his blonde hair. Roux was many things, but patient wasn’t one of them. She was one of his closest friends, and yet… his strongest knight was warning him about her. And he could see where the worry was coming from.

“Trying to give yourself wrinkles as well as white hair?”

Siegfried had forgotten that Lohengrin was in the room as well. He smiled tiredly at his friend. “You’ll have more wrinkles than me with all your scowls.”

The boy rolled his eyes as he crossed the floor. Half of his dark hair was in two tight braids along one side of his head, and the rest hung free to the other side. “I’m not  _ scowling _ , I just don’t smile all the time.” His square jaw didn’t help the image. Siegfried laughed a little as Lohengrin leaned on the back of Siegfried’s chair. “You know, my father doesn’t know  _ everything _ …”

“Of course not, but he knows the  _ most _ about fighting,” Siegfried returned. “ _ You _ know that. You’ve been training under him how long now?”

“Only my whole life.” Lohen snorted. “But I mean, you have your own fighting style, and it’s wildly different than anything my father knows.”

“Not  _ entirely _ …” Siegfried muttered, glancing at his hands. He was certainly more…  _ graceful _ than any of the knights, but that was the magic helping him. And his study of dance before the war.

“And Roux has  _ her _ own style as well. It’s definitely  _ different _ , but, well… she  _ is _ a Magical Girl.”

“And she wanted to learn how to fight,” Siegfried continued, as they both well knew. Roux hadn’t given up on pestering Sir Parzifal until he’d literally tripped over her and given her a shot at getting into training. In just a few years (?) she had gone from a fiery Princess to an almost silent assassin style. There were a few people to show her the basics of that, but the rest of it was all her. She’d become more graceful than Siegfried in a way no one noticed until her knife was at their skin. She was quick and cunning, something honed from fighting Witches no doubt, but she still indulged in one too many premature gloating laughs to be considered trustworthy of being Siegfried’s Shadow. 

For now, that title belonged to Lohengrin. Roux was upset about it only because she wanted it herself. But once she proved to Sir Parzifal she could handle the position, she would take it, and Lohengrin could return to being a knight. Well, knight in training, technically, but the war-time made everyone advance quicker, desired or not.

Lohen still considered himself Siegfried’s knight. Sir Parzifal was the strongest, best knight in the ranks, a general Siegfried trusted above all others. But Lohen was always with Siegfried, watching his back, protecting flanks and shouting out enemies when spotted. Lohen couldn’t do a thing against the Witches, or not much, but he stayed near during those fights as well, all the same. So the title Shadow had been given to him.

When Roux eventually took over the title, Siegfried didn’t expect much to change, honestly. They would simply have three of them, watching out for each other. Then, maybe even the Raven couldn’t stop them…

“I’m just saying,” Lohen continued, and Siegfried tuned back into the conversation. “That there  _ is _ a place that could teach her more of what she wants to learn. Over the mountains.”

Siegfried blinked. “The MG University? Run by Princess Ida [lastname]?”

“There any others?”

Siegfried considered it, then exhaled, steepling his hands. “Yes… But Roux wouldn’t like that very much.”

“Why not?”

“You know why not.”

Lohen’s gaze narrowed. “If she truly wants to increase her skills, then she won’t let the fact that she has to be away from you for a few months bother her.”

Siegfried grimaced; Lohen always cut right to the heart of matters. “Y-es…. Maybe. But there’s also the fact that it’s over the mountains, through the heart of Raven territory.”

“Which was also her home once,” Lohengrin countered. “She knows the best ways to go. If we go further south, the mountains won’t be as steep and she’ll even have a bit of an easier time crossing. She could go around, of course, but she won’t. If she  _ really  _ wants to, she could even cut through some paths she once used through her old kingdom.”

“ _ Don’t _ even suggest it to her,” Siegfried said tiredly, waving a hand. She would bristle at the suggestion but then probably act on it later if she was determined. Whether or not she liked to admit it, those paths were held a lot of trauma for her as well.

“You should talk to her about it, though,” Lohen continued, shifting in his stance to look more directly at Siegfried, one hand on his hip. “She won’t listen to me if I dare mention the idea of  _ sending her away _ .” He scoffed. 

“She won’t like it any better from me,” Siegfried said. “And if she’s really learned so much, maybe she doesn’t  _ need _ to go to the University. She’s better at dealing with witches, we both are, and—”

“And I told you  _ you _ should go to the University too,” Lohen interrupted. “At the start of things, and a few times since.”

“I’ve been  _ fine _ —”

“And you’d be even  _ better _ if you went and got some training from shared knowledge,” Lohen said, leaning on the arm of Siegfried’s chair and looking at him. “That school has been in place for years now, and while you probably know a lot, and you’ve gotten by with what you have,  _ ‘gracefully’ _ , that doesn’t mean you know everything.”

“...never said I did,” Siegfried muttered, sinking sulkily in his chair and side-eyeing the door.

Lohen stepped back from the chair. “... Sorry. I know. But with  _ both _ of you being Magical Girls, and  _ both _ of you not having been to the University even once… I can’t help but feel like you might be missing out on something important. Something that could save your lives.”

Siegfried sighed. Lohen always meant well, and was almost as big of a worrier as his father. “Yes… I understand what you’re saying, what you mean.” Siegfried straightened again and looked back at Lohen. “It’s just…”

Lohen held up a hand. “I know all your excuses.” He exhaled, sounding tired too. “Just because they’re valid doesn’t change what I said, either.”

Siegfried was at an impasse. Lohen knew that the war was taking a lot of time, effort, organizing, and it was all they could do to secure this side of the mountains as much as possible. Their forces had spread to help along the southwest, past the mountain range, but the eastern side of the mountains was only able to be supported by a few troops here and there. The Magical Girl University was on that side of the mountains, and nearly impossible to get to without directly crossing the mountains within any reasonable length of time. The open expanse of water to the North was relatively safe to cross, but with how far inland Siegfried had traveled it was almost as much effort to go North as it would be to just go South. They needed to keep pressing south if they were going to curb more of the Raven’s attacks.

But Lohen kept insisting it would be worth it. The easterners were largely protected by the Magical Girls, and while the Raven’s forces had devastated many more severely than the people west of the mountains, they resisted and survived. They fought back, successfully. The Magical Girls kept the witches more at bay, and though the Raven pressed, he gained no further ground eastward than he had westward.

If Siegfried, or even just Roux, could go and learn some more, maybe they could gain an upper hand…

“I’ll think about it,” Siegfried finally said.

Lohen exhaled, looking out a window. “Yeah…”

Siegfried felt a bit stung. “Disappointed?” He tried not to sound bitter and sulky. He hardly ever did, but it came out around Lohen.

But now Lohen looked at him, stunned. “What? N-no… I mean…” He glanced at the table and gestured. “There’s— a  _ war  _ going on. I recognize that. I just…” He exhaled again.

Siegfried shifted in his chair and regained his calmness. “Yes, I know you do. Sorry. There’s just… a lot to think about.” And decide on.

Lohengrin nodded, and placed a hand on Siegfried’s shoulder. “And we can work through it together.”

Siegfried gave him a small smile. “Yes.”


	5. Chapter 5

"Did Sir Parzifal complain about my training techniques again?" Roux asked as she came into the meeting room. Syg usually asked to talk with her so soon after she had an altercation with the Sir Parzifal because the man liked to gripe about her 'lack of restraint.' He was a knight, he ought to know the risk in even training with less than focused intent. Besides, it was more fun with live weapons.

"Well..." Syg walked part of the way towards her, stopping at the edge of the long table and steepling his hands in thought; "he had several things to say."

"Of course he did." She grinned and waltzed over beside him, leaning on the table. "So?"

He smiled softly back at her, dropping his hands gracefully. "He said you're very talented."

His smile looked more distant than conspiratorial. Maybe Parzifal had given him another lecture about how she was too dangerous and 'unstable' to have close by, or some other wartime troubles.

She could help with that.

She moved one of her hands on the table onto his and looked at him. "What else did he say?"

"He, ah... He said there wasn't really more for you to learn here."

She raised her eyebrows, still grinning. "He did?" She laughed, almost a giggle but sharper. "The best knight in all the armies has admitted he has nothing more to teach me?"

Syg moved his thumb over her skin briefly before replying, carefully. “He said that you wouldn’t learn what else you needed from him.”

Roux scoffed. “Well he’s got that right.” _ ‘You have learned many things, but respect is not one of them.’  _ She knew respect. She respected Syg, and she respected Sir Parzifal, loathe as she was to admit it. She didn’t  _ agree _ with either of them all the time, especially Sir Parzifal, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t listen to anything either of them said.

They just never had the full story, never thought everything through completely enough.

How was she supposed to be expected to use a sword and shield when her weapons were magical knives? How was she supposed to follow the same dreary trainings as everyone else when she needed to know how to improvise? How was she supposed to pull her punches or her focus when the witches were everywhere and the crows were neverending?

“I think I might have an idea, though,” Syg continued conversationally, interrupting her rumination.

“Oh?” she said, focusing on him again, squeezing his hand. “Going to train me yourself?” She smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes.

Syg blushed a little. “I— no. You— Roux.” She giggled, and that got a small smile from him, this one more genuine. It was harder to get him to smile lately. “You know you don’t need training from me; I haven’t gotten as far with Sir Parzifal even.”

“That’s because you use a sword,” she teased. “And what if I  _ want  _ training from you? You’re the only other one who can fight witches around here.”

“There’s an entire party of magical girls—”

“They’re amateurs compared to us,” she dismissed.

“Well what if you went somewhere where they weren’t?”

She raised her eyebrows at him, leaning closer. “We haven’t met a magical girl yet that can best me, or you, though I suspect they go easy on you because you’re a Prince.”

“What about [name]? She pinned you.”

“Exactly twice,” Roux sniffed. “And I was new. I bested her before she died.”

Siegfried pursed his lips. She knew he hated it whenever she brought up the deaths in the war, especially by name, but this was a  _ war _ . It was a part of life now. He needed to get used to it sooner or later. Though the fact that it still bothered him was probably another reason why everyone loved him so much. He still cared. She cared too; just not about  _ everyone _ .

“I’m just saying,” he continued, squeezing her hand, “if you want to learn more, there’s a place you can do that.”

She smiled at him, not far from his face at all anymore, more focused on that than the words. “Oh? You going to take me there?”

“N-oo…” he breathed, then swallowed. She watched; it was fun to see him squirm a little inside. He’d been like this when they were both princesses as well; the blush was still just as lovely. He tried to speak again. “It’s— across the mountains.”

She furrowed her brows, distracted now. “What?”

He was looking into her eyes, more worried than flustered. Because he  _ knew _ what the mountains meant to her. Which meant he was serious.

She drew back, though kept a hold on his hand. “What’s across—” Oh. Oh, that school. She blinked.

He smiled, soft, and rubbed her hand with his again. “The Fisk University for Magical Girls.”

“Wh— they can’t know  _ that _ much,” she protested, ignoring the ice prickling in her stomach.

“It’s a  _ school _ , Roux, that  _ specializes _ in Magical Girl attacks and training.” His voice was encouraging, and his hand was warm, holding hers firmly now. “They’ve been in place for years, and they’ve  _ held _ their side of the mountains.”

She jerked her hand back, out of his grasp, the ice suddenly turning hot.

He winced. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Of  _ course _ you didn’t,” she spat back, then sighed and deflated. She  _ knew  _ that he hadn’t meant it as a criticism of her family, of her. “It’s not my fault the Raven is strongest in the mountains…” Her stomach settled into a knot of unease.

He quickly embraced her. “Of course not,” he assured. “And no one expected the tragedies that struck with such force. Your family did the best they could, and you managed to escape and survive.” He pulled back and looked at her. “ _ You _ survived. I’m grateful for that.”

She managed to smile a little at him. “Yeah.”

“I just meant that the University… They have a lot of Magical Girls there. And while you and I have both learned a lot, they’ve got a lot more people to pull knowledge from.”

“Wonderful, good for them; I’m  _ not _ crossing the mountains without you, Syg,” Roux said, setting her face. She wasn’t  _ afraid _ , she just didn’t like leaving him alone. She was  _ uneasy _ , about leaving him, and about crossing the mountains with the measly few knights that could be spared.

“I  _ want _ to go with you, Roux,” Syg insisted, squeezing her hand and not letting her go. “I think that what could be learned there would be as helpful to you as to me, to all of the Magical Girls on this side, really. But we can’t send everyone at once.”

“Of course not, that would be stupid.” She squirmed in his grip, not liking where this was still going.

He loosened his arm around her, but kept her hand. “You’re strong, Roux; you’re the best Magical Girl we have and if anyone can make it across,  _ you _ can. And you could go around, even, down south—”

“That would take  _ months _ !”

“But it’s possible! And if you can go and pick up what they’re teaching, you can come back all the stronger,  _ and _ you can teach everyone over here. Including me.”

Roux tried to resist his golden brown eyes, tried to give reasons that weren’t just stupid fears that were  _ well justified _ . Tried to believe that everything would be fine just like he said, and that leaving Syg for several months wasn’t going to end in disaster. Because as loathe as she was to admit, he had  _ points _ … 

“Please, Roux?” His voice and eyes were soft, imploring.

Damn it. “I— I can’t just— What, so you’re just going to stay here with  _ Lohengrin _ and his armor-straight father? Lead the forces onward? Keep battling as the only Magical Girl with skill on the battlefield?”

“I think we can manage.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, ‘ _ we _ .’ It’s always you and Lohengrin, isn’t it?” She didn’t bother trying to keep her voice from raising in pitch, she was too busy trying to unlatch his hand from hers, get some distance between them so she could think easier. “You two  _ best buds _ , going to  _ save the world _ together! I’ll just go and  _ save your ass _ while neither of you are looking! Oh but I’ve got to go and  _ train _ more, now, don’t I? Leave you with Mister ‘The-Sword-Is-Life-and-so-is-my-braid’? Do you  _ want _ to die on the battlefield?”

She didn’t want to think about going through the woods and the mountains again, she really didn’t, and the easiest target was Lohengrin. It always was. Syg always kept him around, no matter what, even while he was training. Leech. Thief.  _ She  _ would be Syg’s shadow soon, and then Lohengrin would have to content himself to just being a shield for the Prince, if he could manage that much.

Syg place a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she shoved it away. “Roux,” he tried to reason, but she finally managed to free herself completely from his grasp. He scrambled to try and catch her again but she was too quick, darted out of his reach.

“You just don’t want me around, is that it?” she asked, feeling tears in her throat.

“Roux, no! You  _ know _ that’s not it!” he tried to recover.

She didn’t care, her chest was too tight to breathe properly and she turned to storm out of the room.

“I’ll send him with you!” Syg cried out. “Lohen!”

Roux almost stumbled she stopped so fast. She looked at Syg. “What?”

“Lohen,” Syg repeated. “Lohengrin will go with you to the University.”

Roux was breathing easier now, but was too shocked to notice much else. “You… why?” She stepped forward before he could answer. “Why would you do that? You need him here with you, to help protect you.”

“Sir Parzifal will stay here,” Syg said, a little calmer. “It… will probably be best for more than just you to go to the University. Not that I’d send you alone, of course. You’ll be going with some of the Magical Girls and a few knights. But… this way…”

_ She wouldn’t have to be so worried about the mountains _ . He wouldn’t say that to her face, not right now, but she knew he was thinking it. Which both touched and frustrated her. “Well… I suppose if you’re going to send someone, it might as well be Lohengrin.” [WORDS??]

And it also didn’t let Lohen have a monopoly of Syg while she was gone. Which was good. She could accept this.

Syg visibly relaxed, letting out a small breath. “Yes… Yes I think that— will be good.” He smiled at her, tired hopeful. “You’ll both learn a lot, I think. It will be nice to see you both afterwards.”

She rallied the only words she could find. “And you’d better not fall behind while I’m gone! I won’t go easy on you just because we’ll be separated for a few months.” She guessed it would be a few months; if they went through the southern part of the mountains, the less intense and more wooded area, it would still take at least a week of travel if things went smoothly, but they’d get there. And the University couldn’t have  _ that _ much to teach; maybe they’d even come back in a month’s time.

He smiled at her, more relaxed and full; it was like the smiles like he used to have before the war dragged him in. “Of course.”

Her heart stuttered like it hadn’t in a while. Hard. “W-well— right. Yes.” She turned on her heel. “I should go pack some things, then.” She walked briskly out, flushing as she heard Syg giggle a little behind her. It wasn’t the same as it had been before, his voice, but it still got to her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time skip woooo  
> From the last quarter of the story I think

“Nadja…” Lohengrin held her in his arms, close and warm. She wrapped her wings around him, soft and supportive despite their petite nature. He let the warmth sit for a while, then murmured against her hair. “Do you want to stay like this?”

“Like what?” she mumbled back into his shoulder.

“Together,” he said. “Safe.”

She let out a short laugh immediately followed by an apologetic gasp. “Oh, sorry, I— I  _ do _ , really. I would love that…” She pulled back to look at him. “I just— nowhere is really ‘safe’, you know?”

“But there are places farther away, saf _ er _ places,” he continued in earnest, tone soft.

She looked at him, large eyes soft, but let out a small sigh. “Lohengrin… you know that’s not where we are.”

“But we could be.” He moved a hand to her face, fingers stroking her skin. “We could go there. Isn’t your castle even one of them?”

She huffed a little, and flushed at the same time. “Lohen—  _ no _ . I mean, yes, I guess, but—”

“That’s fine,” he quickly put in, appeasing her. “It doesn’t have to be your home. It could be anywhere. Further west, further south… Maybe a small town that could use some encouragement.” He smiled hopefully at her.

She looked at him a little strangely, wary perhaps, but not worried. “Maybe…? I suppose once I’m… Once I can fight witches—”

He stopped her with a finger over her lips. “Sshh, shh, no, you don’t have to,” he said, trying to sound anything but desperate. “That— there are plenty of magical girls. You don’t need to become one, you know.”

She frowned and stepped back from him. “I— Lohen, you  _ know _ how— How—”

“How you want to contribute to the war efforts, yes,” he finished, stepping close to her again. “Yes. But you can do that as you are,  _ with _ your wings, even if you don’t think you can.” He smoothed the feathers on her forearms as he looked into her argumentative eyes. “I’ve told you a hundred times you can. And I can help you.”

She softened some at that. “You… But what about Siegfried?”

“What about him?”

She became more worried. “He  _ needs _ you, Lohen, you  _ know _ it! Especially with—”

She cut off, and Lohengrin didn’t want to finish the sentence either. Roux’s body was still waiting to be properly buried, even if they all knew it would be a sham at this point.

Lohengrin shook his head. “Siegfried… can use all the help he has. And he has a lot of it.  _ Everyone  _ is willing to help him, almost always. And he’s a strong enough person to manage things on his own.” He smiled at her, hoping that maybe they both could believe the lie.

Nadja furrowed her brows at him, still worried and now confused. “You can’t leave him,” she said with a small shake of her head. “You  _ wouldn’t _ , not the Lohengrin I know!”

His heart ached, but he tried to ignore it as he embraced her again. “It’s alright, I know…” He sighed and then whispered. “He gave me permission to go, if I wanted.”

“... Go where?” she breathed, sounding almost afraid of the answer.

“With you.”

Her little claw-like hands tightened on his back, around his braids. “I’m— I’m not…  _ going _ anywhere.”

“But you could,” he continued, “ _ we _ could. Down to a small town, like I said. Or your castle. Or anywhere else. Away from the Raven and witches.”

He could feel her heart pounding. “We— There  _ isn’t _ anywhere—”

“We could find a place,” he said, lips over her cheek. “Far away. Safe enough.” He wanted so desperately to just take her, to explain on the way, to get as far from all the drama and death as they could. She had to understand, to feel similarly, right? Or she would come to understand?

“Lohengrin—” She sounded like she was fighting herself. Her arms were tense and he could feel her little claws poking him, possibly preparing to push away.

“Please?” He kissed her cheek. “Please, Tutu?”

She let out a small nervous laugh. “Really?”

“Of course.” He kissed her cheek one more time, then put his hands around her waist and lifted her, fluidly spinning once with her. Her grip on him tightened painfully and she let out a small surprised sound before he set her down again. “Away from the war, away from the Raven, away from the University… Wouldn’t it be great?” He smiled at her, loving how she looked when flushed, hopeful she would understand.

She was grinning, and red, looking at him. But she loosened her grip after a few moments, and her face became more sullen and wistful. “... We can’t, Lohen,” she said softly. “You know we can’t.”

“We could try,” he said, pleading tone accidentally slipping in.

Her look became more worried again. “I… No, Lohen…”

“We could,” he repeated, stronger, trying to get the urgency and seriousness across to her. “We could very easily.” He swept her legs out from under her with an arm and picked her up bridal style.

“L- _ Lohen!! _ ” she yelped, holding tightly to him.

He ignored the pinpricks of her claws and started walking off with her. “All we have to do is go. The war will still wage. The University will keep running, magical girls will keep fighting witches.” Despite how pointless it was, it was effort they didn’t have to put forth, that Nadja didn’t have to join. “Siegfried will keep leading fearlessly and defeat the Raven. Eventually.”

“Lohen-grin,” Nadja said, panic in her tone, “you can’t— that’s  _ not _ —” 

“And when he does,” Lohengrin continued, more for himself at this point than for her, “we can congratulate him! And we can go to his castle. Have you ever been there? It’s huge. Enough for—” For so many people, so many dead. “for all kinds of adventures. There’s a music room, and a cathedral, your voice would sound lovely there. Siegfried would love it.”

“We can’t just  _ leave _ —”

“Your sister doesn’t even have to know, if you don’t want. You could send her a letter later.” Even though Ida would probably be happy that her sister decided not to be a part of the relentless killing system of the University, he couldn’t actually be sure. She ran the place, after all.

“Stop!”

“I have a horse.”

“Lohengrin—!” She started squirming.

He held tighter. “She can carry two people, and you’re very light so it wouldn’t be—”

“ _ Stop _ !” Nadja whacked his head with her wing, claws scratching his head in passing.

“ _ Ah _ !” He tripped at the same time, and they both went tumbling to the ground.

She didn’t fall very far away, but she quickly scooted farther. He was on his hands and knees, but he couldn’t seem to move. He felt a little blood in his hair where she’d scratched him. He was breathing harder than he realized; why? It hadn’t been a hard hit, or a hard fall. He just needed to move over to Nadja and convince her to leave with him. But he couldn’t. Move.

“I’m  _ not _ leaving,” Nadja stated defiantly, a little fearfully. Lohengrin couldn’t look up to see her face.

He couldn’t respond.

Didn’t she know? Didn’t she see the death  _ everywhere _ ? Didn’t she understand— she  _ had _ to! She’d had sisters die to this stupid war, to the lies of the University. She  _ knew _ now how pointless it all was!

“I’m not leaving,” she repeated. “And… neither are you.”

He  _ had _ to go, had to leave, had to take her with him. To protect her while he still could. She was the only one he  _ could _ protect, maybe. If they could stay far away enough from… everything!

He was still stuck on his hands and knees. He started to shake.

“... Lohen?” Nadja asked softly.

He couldn’t move, couldn’t  _ do _ anything. Not when his father had died. Not when Roux had lost her mind. Not when Siegfried had needed him, or any time since.

He took a sharp breath, since he had apparently forgotten to breathe, and it was a loud shuddering sound that surprised even him. Immediately Nadja was at his side, feathers smoothing worriedly over him. “Lohen? Are you okay? Lohengrin?”

He was shaking more now, and he scrunched his eyes, willing it to stop. His braids shuddered with his free hair and he just shook his head, trying to stop it all. 

“Lohen, what— Did you get hurt?” She didn’t even sound like she believed that one. “What’s— what’s going on! Please!” She hugged him, awkwardly, trying to help him sit up again at the same time.

And then he collapsed. He fell under her slight weight, onto the ground, into his shoulder, and just crumpled there. He took another shuddering gasp and started to sob. He couldn’t do anything about it, just like everything else around him. He cried and shook, wishing it weren’t coming out here, like this, with her, but it was happening. Everything always happened despite everything he tried to prevent.

Nadja sat and quickly moved his head to her lap, tried to pull him up closer but couldn’t quite manage it. He wished he could help but he couldn’t even do that. So he just cried, and let her hold him. She smoothed her feathers over his hair and his arms, whispering ‘I’m sorry’s and ‘It’s alright’s. Neither of them should be coming from her, and he knew nothing was right  _ at all _ , but her words sunk into his aching heart and made him cry more.

He cried for his father, lost in the line of service to his Prince. Suddenly and definitively. He cried for Siegfried, who had to watch the kill, who had been injured because Lohengrin hadn’t been there to help. Or maybe he wouldn’t have been able to help either. He cried for Roux, who he hadn’t always necessarily liked but who had been a stalwart defense and support for Siegfried, and a friend to them both.

He cried for Nadja, for her discovering the origins of witches and her sister’s role in it. That Nadja still felt the need to try and stick through it all anyway, that she didn’t believe she was important for anything else. That she was more loyal to her friends and country than he was himself.

He cried for Siegfried, his best friend. For the fact that someday, Siegfried would turn into a witch, and there was nothing to be done about it other than dying quicker. Lohengrin cried at the loss now because he couldn’t do anything about it and with the way things were going, it would happen sooner rather than later. 

Lohengrin cried, long and hard. His tears soaked Nadja’s skirt. She just smoothed his hair, held him, and sang soft sounds from her memory. He couldn’t pick out any words, if there were any, but it still helped.

Eventually, he calmed. His breath no longer shook his entire body, and his eyes were more or less dry.

At length, Nadja placed her head over his and whispered, “Can you… talk about it?”

He sniffed, then coughed. She pulled back to let him, and he eventually sat up. She scooted close to him, supporting his side worriedly. He looked at her and cleared his throat, sure he must be quite a sight at this point. “I… ugh…”

He didn’t want to talk about it. He turned and hugged her close to him instead.

She wrapped her wings around him as well, and let him stay there for a time.

It was needed.

“Lohen,” she said again. “I know there’s a lot going on…”

“I just… want to protect you,” he said, not bothering to hide the pleading in his voice anymore. “Please, Nadja. I don’t want to lose any more important people in my life…”

“What about the Prince?”

Oh, his heart. Both of them; so selfless and so vulnerable. Both of them stronger than he gives them credit for. He swallowed. “I know. He… I can’t protect him from himself.”

“You can help. We both can.”

He closed his eyes and sighed, resting his head against hers. He sat there for a while before commenting, “How come you have so much hope?”

She shrugged. “It’s my name?” She chuckled once. “I guess because… it’s the best thing we have.”

And Lohengrin found himself agreeing.


End file.
